Tag Archives: A&E

Picoult offers look into motherhood in novel

By Alyssa Book

Harvesting the Heart by Jodi Picoult is a book that explores the struggles a young woman faces with dealing with issues of her past while meeting the demands of being a wife and a new found mother. The plot centers on Paige O’Toole and Nicholas Prescott. She is a young runaway and he is a striking up and coming med student. Having their backgrounds  being from completely different parts of the globe, as the reader you can begin to feel like this a modern Cinderella story, Picoult is too crafty for that though, weaving in abortion, neglect, and lies into the story-line. The sensitive topics covered are handled in a respectful manner.

The story talks about the difficulty of meeting the demands of a family. The story switches point of view between Paige and Nicholas, which is great because it shows how men and women look at the same concerns in a different way. Having a mother absent in her life, Paige is wondering if she has the emotional state to take care of a child of her own. As the story progresses, you see how Paige is starting to become a mirror image of her mother, the woman she swore she would never take after.

Picoult wrote this story in a voice of vulnerability and delicacy. Every character I came across I felt that I understand what they were going through. I have many Picoult books, and this one felt the most personal. She handles the story with emotional grace and shows how the transition into motherhood and marriage is not always the fairy tale we grow up hearing about.

The only frustrating part I found with the novel was the ending. It did not give you a clear cut answer to what the solution to the problem was. I found myself wondering days after I finished the novel what exactly the ending meant. I loved the book and just wanted to know more about the future of Paige and Nicholas. While this was frustrating, I believe that the ending showed how well Picoult causes the reader to think about what they are reading and use their own morals to decide what they think should happen.

I would recommend this book to anyone that is at least high school age. With both male and female narrators is helps both genders identify with story. The novel is full of suspense but has a romantic interest in it so it stays interesting the whole way through. Harvesting the Heart is a great novel that shows a new perspective into the life of motherhood, marriage, and discovering yourself.

 

Films that got away: Memento

By Christian DiMartino

Title: Memento

Genre: Mystery, Drama

Release Date:

Film rating: R

Leads: Guy Pearce, Carrie-Ann Moss, Joe Pantoliano

Director: Christopher Nolan

Writer(s): Christopher and Jonathan Nolan

Christopher Nolan’s first major film, Memento, is one that really shows his roots as a filmmaker. Nolan went on to direct Inception, and both movies display his true talent: thinking. If you’re into that movie, then you cannot resist Memento. Nolan has a talent for invoking deep thought in all his movies, and this one is no exception.

The film centers around Leonard (Guy Pearce), a man with a strange memory disorder: He does not have amnesia, but he cannot make new memories. In order to remember, he is forced to take pictures of certain events and get tattoos of important facts. Leonard is on the hunt for his wife’s killer, but in his case, who is there to trust?

Pearce does his best performance in this film, and that is probably because it is one of the few movies where he is the main character. Typically in supporting roles, Pearce proves that he can carry his own movie. Carrie Ann Moss is fantastic as a Natalie, a waitress that isn’t what she seems, and as is Joe Pantoliano as a supposed “cop” who joins him on the journey.

Memento sounds a little like your typical thriller, but it takes the genre one step further: The entire movie goes backwards. Memento literally starts from the end, and it is all leading up to the beginning. Most thrillers are like puzzles, whereas Memento really is one. Nolan challenges his viewers by letting them piece the mystery together scene by scene.

There have not been many movies quite like this, and the only one that is nearly as clever is Memento. Nolan and his brother Jonathan are practically the owners of a brain factory, and they wrote a movie deemed to challenge. You can take or leave it, but I love it.

Memento was nominated for two Academy-Awards including Best Original Screenplay and Best Editing. It did not win either? Are movies better edited? Are movies more original? When was the last time a movie was told backwards? Memento, that’s when. It should have been nominated for best picture (and won, because this is one of the great films of the past decade).

Unlike Leonard, you will be able to remember this movie. It is one that truly burns in your memory and stays there long after you see it. But not many people have seen it, so that is why it is the one that got away.

KFC Yum! Center offers popular concert lineup

By Lexi Burch

As the year 2013 kicks off with a bang, so do the sounds from inside the KFC Yum! Center. Even though it is only March,  the Yum! Center has brought in and will bring in music’s top names for their concert lineup.

The KFC Yum! Center, the home basketball court of the Louisville Cardinals, also hosts some of the largest concerts in Kentucky and Indiana. With seating for up to 22,000 people it is a key place for music stars to come and share their music. Junior Courtney Crombie said it is an awesome place to hold concerts.

“It’s so huge, the large space allows artists to do awesome things,” said Crombie.

Less than a week ago the Yum! Center hosted punk rock singer P!nk.

“My favorite part of the concert was when she was flying around the arena doing her acrobatic stuff,” said Crombie.

The concert line ups doesn’t stop at P!nk, artists like Luke Bryan, Kid Rock, Zac Brown Band, and The Who have all paid a visit to the Yum! Center.

“I’ve been to a couple concerts there,” said sophomore Natalie Graham. “The Yum! Center never fails to book awesome artists.”

In less than a month, country star Jason Aldean will take the stage and senior Alex Beyer said he is very excited.

“I am most excited to go see him live,” said Beyer. “It’s so much different to see an artist live.”

In addition to country stars like Jason Aldean, the Yum! Center will welcome one of country music’s biggest star. 21-year-old Taylor Swift will make her appearance May 10. This will be Swift’s third time in Louisville and second time at the Yum! Center.

“I was so excited [to get Swift tickets] because I have been to all of her concerts in Louisville and I know she always puts on an amazing show,” said junior Alex Kennedy.

It seems as if the Yum! Center’s line-up would slow down after Swift but if anything it gets better. Later in the year they will host Bruno Mars, One Direction, Bon Jovi, and Fleetwood Mac. This year’s line up will be every concert-goers dream, full of ultimate concert experiences.

“My favorite thing about concerts is because of how loud it is and how many people are there,” said Kennedy. “It’s like a giant party.”